POETRY AND PROSE 



PS 3537 
.P72 P6 
1912 
Copy 1 



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J. H. SANKEY 




Class 
Book. 



Coipght)J°. 






COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



POETRY AND PROSE 



POETRY & PROSE 



REV. J. H. SANKEY 




RICHARD G. BADGER 

THE GORHAM PRESS 

BOSTON 



Copyright, 1912^ by Rev. J. H. Sankey 



All Rights Rtoserved 



The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A 



©CI.A3281S6 



To the love and devotion of 
A Father and A Mother 
these lines are dedicated 



POETRY AND PROSE 



CONTENTS 

Page 

The Power of Touch 9 

The Man Who Stood Still 13 

A Little Child Shall Lead Them 17 

The Star of Hope 20 

The Price 25 

The Comprehensiveness of Christ 30 

Our Personal Influence 32 

Loneliness 36 

Easter '. 37 

The Christian a Witness for Christ 40 

My Father's House 45 

The New Things of Christianity 47 

Songs in the Night 49 



THE POWER OF TOUCH 

In the silence of his studio sat 
An artist. For months he had 
I'oiled with the picture. Upon 
The canvas had been transferred 
The best of his thought and 
Genius. Still there seemed to 
Lack that without which the 
Subject could never speak to 
The emotions of men. For into 
The painter's life there had 
Never come any of those transforming 
Influences, which so soften and 
Temper our natures, and make 
The possessor a moving power for 
Good in the world, like the sympathy 
Of the human heart as it goes 
Out to those who need it most. 
While how often in human 
Experience has some touch 
Been either the means of redeeming 
A soul or the impulse that has 
Put new life into some warrior 
On life's great battle-field. 
Not so much by mighty acts 
Are lives fashioned and moulded, 
As by the little touches, which 
Give the silver lining to many 
A darkened cloud and new hope 
To the almost despairing soul. 
It was the cry of such a one 
That arrested the Master's 
Attention, and to whose eyes He 
Gave that touch which dispelled 

9 



THE POWER OF TOUCH 

For him the physical darkness in 
Which he walked. 
Nor has one got to possess the 
Almighty power of the Son of 
God, in order that his life 
May be a touch-stone to some 
Human heart, from whom the latter 
Will gain that blessed impulse. 
Leading them to toil and wait 
Till Jesus comes and calls them 
Home. 

In the turmoil and struggle of 
This world, where men are seeking 
For fame and renow^n and others 
Are immersing their lives in the 
Busy whirl of pleasure, a life 
Was found toiling for the good 
Of others. 

The world stood ready to applaud 
If victory perched upon his banner, 
While just as quickly would it 
Point the finger of scorn should 
The slightest weakness be shown. 
The moment was one which called 
For a courage that was ready to 
Die but never to yield, while 
The soul which was ready to spend 
And be spent for others, was 
Longing for that sympathy which 
None seemed to understand or 
Know how to give. 
Yet a night, into whose darkness 

10 



THE POWER OF TOUCH 

The individual was called upon 
To go on a mission of love and 
Mercy, was made brighter by the 
Touch of a loving hand and the 
Kindly thought of one who tried 
To understand. 
It is such things as these, little 
Though they seem which keep 
Many a soul from giving up in 
Despair. More than that, whether 
It be the physical pressure of 
The human hand, or that which 
Is more potent still, the seed 
Of thought dropped in the plastic 
Chamber of the young and tender 
Mind ; yet, it may give to those 
For whom Christ died, that 
Leading tendency w^hich may lead 
Their feet to Calvary. 

A touch, what a little thing; 
Yet, if we could but measure 
What lasting influences it may 
Have on those to whom it is given. 
How much more care would we take 
As to its tendency. 
By it the vouth mav be led to 
Seek the Master, Who said, "Suffer 
Them to come and forbid them 
Not, for of such is the kingdom 
Of heaven." 

By it the pathway of some may 
Be made brighter and happier. 

II 



THE POWER OF TOUCH 

By it, the wanderer may be led 
To Him, Who came to seek and to 
Save that which was lost. 

By it, we may add to our crown 

Over yonder gems that shall shine 

Through the ages yet to come. 

Remember this, dear reader, for 

By the following out of its 

Teaching you may give to the 

Picture of your life that touch 

Which the artist's picture seemed 

To lack, and which shall cause 

It to hang in the gallery of 

Some soul you have helped long 

After you have ceased to tabernacle 

In this world. 

While who can tell, but that in 

The Home not made with hands, it 

May be thought of by Him, Who said: 

''I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; 

I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; 

I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 

Naked, and ye clothed me; 

I was sick, and ye visited me ; 

I was in prison, and ye came unto me." 



12 



THE MAN WHO STOOD STILL 

Advancement seems to be the 
Watchword of the times. As this 
Bugal-note is echoed along the 
Line, one knows that it will be 
But a few short years, till 
Another aspiring youth shall 
Have written his name among the 
Illustrious of the world. 
Along the road to the goal of 
His ambition has been met many 
Difficulties and obstacles of 
Every kind, and before which 
Some who have toiled manfully 
At his side, have gone down in 
Defeat and despair. 
While sad as such a thought may 
Be, still darker seems the picture, 
When its contemplation brings to 
View "the man who stood still," 
Or that character who never seemed 
To have any aim in life. 
Life's opportunities are like 
Doors, which swing upon willing 
Hinges to the touch of the 
Ambitious and progressive soul, 
But which never yield to the 
Indolent and idle. 
And though circumstances, over 
Which he has no control, hinders 
Many an ambitious one from winning 
The laurel wreath of this world's 
Applause and praise ; still within 
The grasp of any willing hand 

13 



THE MAN WHO STOOD STILL 

Hangs the reward of a single talent 
Blessing. 

For the condemnation of the Master 
Was not called forth because of 
Narrowed opportunity, but on 
Account of the individual's 
Anchorage in the pool of stagnation 
And idleness, and so he had failed 
To improve the opportunity that 
Was within his grasp. 
How many make failures of what 
Might be a life-time of usefulness 
And blessing to their fellow-men 
Because they stand still. 
How many lose, not that the 
Ability to win has been denied 
Them, but simply because they 
Make no effort to gain. 

Within the schools of learning 
Many a scholar is successful, 
Because the one goes forward ; 
While the other stands still. 
While in after-life, this failure 
To realize all that God would 
Have them be, casts them up as 
Shipwrecked vessels upon the 
Strands of time. 
For they simply fail to take 
Advantage of the outgoing tide. 
Which if they did would carry 
Their barks of life away from 
The moorings of stagnation out 
Into the ocean of opportunity 

14 



THE MAN WHO STOOD STILL 

And blessing to themselves and 

Others. 

God's call to men in ever}^ phase 

Of life, is like it was to Israel 

Of old. 

'*Go forward" is the clarion he 

Is sounding in our ears, and 

Only as we obey that summons, 

Heeding not the mountains of 

Difficulty or the warring host 

Arrayed against us, will the walls 

Of difficulty part and give a 

Pathway to the promised land of 

Our hopes. 

Stand not still, oh fellow-man. 

Whoever you may be, for while 

You do another may come in and gain 

The prize. 

The race of life is not always 

To the swift, but to those who 

Have perseverance and determination. 

The reward will come. 

Not only does this thought apply 

Itself to the one who loses 

Much by standing still, but think 

Of the awful blunders men and 

Women have made by halting between 

Two opinions. 

The wife of Pilate might plead 

With him to have nothing to do 

With that just Man, but the Roman 

Governor stood still and let the 

Man in whom he could find no 

Fault be crucified. 

15 



THE MAN WHO STOOD STILL 

The tears of a broken-hearted 
Peter were wrung from his soul, 
When he realized his blunder in 
Standing still around a fire of 
Coals, when friendship and love 
For the sufferer should have kept 
Him close to his side. 
By standing still, you may hide 
Your talent in a napkin, and so 
Receive the condemnation of the 
Unprofitable servant. 
By standing still, you may fail 
To realize all that life has in 
Store for you, and so miss the 
Blessings that Heaven evidently 
Intended should be yours. 
By standing still, you may fail 
To press a cup of cold water to 
The lips of some weary pilgrim, 
And so leave the world darker 
For some toiler, and a heart sadder 
For having met you. 
By standing still, you will 
Leave no monumental shaft of 
Thought in the hearts of those 
You might have blessed, and the 
World itself will be no better 
For you having lived in it. 
By standing still, the only thing 
That your life will cast is a 
Shadow, which is neither a blessing 
To yourself nor a comfort to others. 

i6 



A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM 

No picture elicits from mankind such 
Universal admiration as that 
In which the Man of Galilee welcomes 
The helpless children into his 
Presence and affectionately 
Embracing them in his arms, says 
"Of such is the Kingdom of heaven." 
What artist has not had that in 
His mind when at some time he 
Sought to win the praise of his 
Fellowman with the product of 
His silent brush? 
What comfort the thought of the 
Master's care of them has brought 
To many a mother's or a father's 
Heart, as they have gazed with 
Tear-dimmed eyes into the narrow 
House, which for a time Is to be 
The earthly bed for their little 
One till its blood-washed spirit 
Is reunited with its earthly 
Tabernacle In the better land. 
How the thought of that heavenly 
Reunion has cheered them in the 
Trials and hardships of this earthly 
Pilgrimage and led them to look 
Forward to a happy meeting in 
That land of heavenly bliss. 
Yes, a little child shall lead 
Them. 

It may be away from the sins 
And corruptions of an evil world, 
To a better and a purer life; 

17 



A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM 

It may be away from that which 

Has found its chief center in 

Self, to the helpless ones of 

Earth, who need their aid and 

Guidance. 

For where is the soul so lost 

To all tender emotions that will 

Not respond to the touch of 

Children's little hands? 

And when used of God, from what 

Abyss of despair they have 

Often directed the wa5rward to 

Where help and mercy can be found. 

A little child, by its teachable 

Disposition, may lead to a seat 

At the Master's feet. 

A little child, by its purity 

Of thought and innocency of action. 

May lead one to live more in the 

Light of divine truth, and by 

The searching of the same, the 

Inquirer may find for himself 

Eternal life. 

Have you, my reader, that thought 

For the little ones of earth 

That will lead you to devote a 

Portion of j^our time to their 

Education and profit? 

While have we ever thought, as 

Much as we should, of the care 

That should be exercised not to 

Offend one of Christ's little 

Ones ? 

i8 



A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM 

If from the garden of this world 
We miss, as many do, some olive 
Plant that was given to us, let 
Us not rebel against a providence 
That now we cannot understand, 
Remembering if the flower of God's 
Planting was taken from our 
Earthly garden, the Master has 
It in that home not made with 
Hands, eternal in the heavens. 
While by it He may be seeking 
To lead our thought away from 
The things of time to that eternal 
World. 



19 



THE STAR OF HOPE 

Ambition has been said to be 
The watchword of our times. 
Yet back of this there will 
Always be found the hand of 
Some beckoning angel, leading 
The ambitious soul forward to 
The goal upon which he has set 
His heart, and which to the 
Individual is nothing more or 
Less than the star of hope upon 
Which he has fixed his gaze. 
It is this that has enabled so 
Many in the past to overcome 
The difficulties and hardships 
They were called upon to 
Encounter, till at last their 
Eyes were gladdened with the 
Sight of that upon which they 
Had set their hearts. 
Following it, some have become 
Footsore and weary, as the 
Children of Israel were in their 
Desert march. 
To a few, like Abraham of 
Old, the very road of obedience 
May seem to shut its glory from 
Their sight forever, but happy 
Are they, who like him in such 
An hour, are faithful to the One 
Who had promised, for in due 
Season they shall reap if they 
Faint not. 

Upon it, at one time and another, 

20 



THE STAR OF HOPE 

Has been fastened the eye of 

Every prophet of the past, as 

They sought to foretell events 

Connected with the advent of the 

Son of Man. 

It was this hope burning in the 

Hearts of the wise men, 

Which lead them to follow the star in 

The East, till it guided them 

To Him Who had to yield His life 

Upon the cross of Calvary before 

The hopes of all the world could 

Be met. 

Oh, the mountains of difficulty 
Over which the feet of men have 
Gone to possess it, and through 
What seas of blood they have 
Steered their crafts of life in 
Order to drop their anchor in 
The haven over which it has 
Shone ! 

Yet, even when we thus seemingly 
Stop to count the cost, who is 
There who would not spend and 
Be spent, in gaining the goal. 
To the student dreary indeed 
Would be the hours spent in 
Toiling over the problems which lie 
Before him, and colder still 
Would be the lifeless canvas upon 
Which the artist seeks to display 
His genius were it not for the 

21 



\ 



THE STAR OF HOPE 

Star of hope which beckons them 

Onward. 

While all the sacrifice which 

Has been made of time, talents, 

And money seem to men as nothing 

When they think of the hope 

Within their hearts of one day 

Reaping the vision of their 

Dreams. 

With It In mind, the youth gives 

The best of his life to study; 

For It the father or the mother 

Toils and labors In the preparation 

Of that which others shall afterwards 

Enjoy; the united energy of nations 

Has been given to Its accomplishment; 

And all mankind looks forward 

In expectancy to a millennial day 

When the hopes of the world will 

Be fulfilled. 

Weak oftentimes may seem to be 

The part we take in the struggle , 

While time after time the curtain 

Of a day has run down with the 

Tasks on the stage of life 

Seemingly unfulfilled. 

Yet to many the star of hope. 

Which at some time In their 

Existence they have seen on 

The horizon of their vision, 

Has been like the beacon light 

To the sailor, beckoning them 

Upward and onward. 

22 



THE STAR OF HOPE 

While as life is full of 
Vicissitudes and changes, even 
This is not without its shadows, 
No matter how hopeful the racer 
On life's course may be. 
For there are those who in 
Childhood's happy hours have 
Indulged in what some are pleased 
To call the dreams of youth, and 
Who in after years have tasted 
Only of the sorrow which comes 
To one as he sits in the 
Sackcloth and ashes of disappointed 
Hopes. 

The critic may question of what 
Benefit it has been to them, still 
I think they are better, purer, 
And nobler for having thus 
Indulged themselves in high hopes 
And aspirations, than if their 
Ambition had never led them 
Thus to think. 

For as thought will mould and 
Fashion character, so if our 
Thoughts are forming dreams for 
The good of others, though the 
Dream itself may never be 
Realized, still the influence of 
It may be like the aroma of the 
Rose, whose fragrance is experienced 
Even while we cannot see the 
Flower itself. 
If our star of hope is as 

23 



THE STAR OF HOPE 

Unselfish in the giving of its 
Light, as the thought of Stanley- 
Was when he sought to open up the 
Closed doors of a darkened 
Heathen world to the glorious 
Light of Gospel blessing; or as 
Self-sacrificing as Grace Darling 
Was when she risked her life to 
Save a crew of perishing seamen; 
Though in the struggle, like the 
One we pass from the world 
Of time and sense; or like the 
Other, be little thought of by 
The majority of mankind, still 
The world cannot help but be 
Better for our having lived in 
It. 



24 



THE PRICE 

In the commercial world to-day 
There is no word men are so 
Accustomed to hearing and using 
As the price. 

It is in the mind of him who 
Seeks to become possessor of 
The article in question, as well 
As uppermost in the thought of 
Him who seeks to sell the same. 
While if many a one was as 
Careful, when they seek to 
Answer the Master's question, 
"What shall a man give in exchange 
For his soul?" fewer would be 
Selling theirs as Judas did his 
For thirty pieces of silver. 
But it is not alone in the 
Weightier matters that the 
Price plays a part, but its 
Influence is felt in the happiness 
Or misery of every man or woman, 
From the moment of their entrance 
Upon the active duties of life, 
Till the hour when the evening 
Bell shall call them from 
The school house of earth to 
The last examination at the bar 
Of God. 

The thought is not what we pay, 
But does what we get in return 
Reward us for the energy, talent, 
Or affection invested ? 
Such a searching question covers 

25 



THE PRICE 

A might}^ scope of territory and 
May reach the most tender of human 
Emotions, but it is the only 
Way of reaching the ever recurring 
Query, "Does it pay?" 
The youth, standing before the 
Devil's bargain counter, only 
To awaken some day in the 
Field of disappointed hopes, and 
With a realization in his own heart 
That all is not gold that glitters; 
The dreamer, to whose company 
At some time in life, we all 
Belong, and who hopes to come 
Into possession of his ideal and 
So gives a lifetime of energy 
To his effort; the man of 
Maturer years, backed by experiences 
Through which he has passed, in 
Seeking to bring the enterprise 
He has on foot to completion, 
Each must pay the price. 

While at whatever avenue in life 

We stand, we find the same is 

True. 

For no home has ever yet been 

Reared at whose altar the price 

Has not been paid. 

It may be a father's or a mother's 

Self-sacrifice and devotion from 

Which the children are reaping 

The benefit. 

26 



THE PRICE 

It may be the maiden's untried 
Affection laid at the door of 
Him who she trusts and loves; 
Or it may be the stalwart heart 
Of him who dreams of a realm 
Of trust and confidence we call 
Home, and for the sake of 
Establishing the same he toils 
And labors. 

And none count the price too 
Dear for the realization of 
Their hopes. 

While as every coast has its 
Wrecks and storm-driven vessels, 
So sad it is when along the 
Strands of time we meet with 
The discouraged and broken- 
Hearted, whose efforts have only 
Met with non-appreciation and 
At whose feet no rose-bud has 
Ever fallen from the hands of 
Those for whom they have worked 
And toiled. 

The price, it is true, has been 
Paid, but only He who knows man's 
Inmost thought, can ever tell 
What the price has been. 
For the dreamer may at last 
Wear a crown of thorns, when he 
Awakens to find things are 
Not what they seemed to be, and 
So drink the gall and bitterness 
Of disappointed hopes and ambitions. 

27 



THE PRICE 

Yet for all this let none count 
The price too dear, for upon life's 
Stage we all have our part 
To play, and it may be that He 
Who is the prompter of life's 
Mighty drama is by a Gethsemane 
Of sorrow fitting the individual 
For a land of joy and glory. 

The woods of old New England 
Rang with the shouts of those 
Who longed for religious freedom, 
But not till the price of hardihood 
And bravery, which led those 
Pilgrims to face a wintry sea. 
Had been paid. 

The shackles of slavery fell from 
The hands of the bondman and the 
Union was saved, but not till 
The price of blood told the story 
Of war and carnage and upon the 
Altar of his country had been 
Given one of the noblest hearts 
That ever beat. 

As the past has been so will the 
Future be. 

No one has aver seen the beauty 
Of the rose or inhaled its perfume, 
Till the flower has bloomed but 
To die. 

While no life can ever win from 
The world anything that is worthy 
The keeping or give to mankind 

28 



THE PRICE 

The sweetness of love and devotion, 

Till it has paid, or is willing to pay. 

The price. 

What lead the shepherds to the 

Manger cradle? 

What caused those fishermen of 

Galilee to follow a man who had 

Not where to lay his head? 

What caused Him, who had power 

To summon angels to his protection, 

To stand speechless before Pilate's 

Judgment bar? 

They saw in Him one who was willing 

To pay the price, and He 

Knew that in the doing of the 

Same he would not only fulfill 

The Father's will, but that He 

Would meet the indebtedness of 

Those He loved with the price 

Of His precious blood; 

And so make possible the transformation 

Of a race of sinners lost into 

Bond-slaves of the sweetest 

Master. 



29 



THE COMPREHENSIVENESS OF CHRIST 

No character, in human history, is found so 
comprehensive as that of Christ. No man meets our 
human needs, with such abundant sufficiency, as the 
Man of Galilee. And no more beautiful examples 
of this can be found, than some of those simple pen 
pictures, which those men inspired of God, have 
left upon the sacred page. 

To what heights of divine glory they seem to take 
us. Into what depths of human sorrow the thought- 
ful mind is necessarily lead, as in meditation he 
ponders upon the Sacred Word, or sees the same 
revealed by the skillful brush of some master artist. 

We admire the beautiful, and sometimes try to 
avoid the sad and sorrowful; and yet, how much 
these souls of ours would have missed, had not the 
Son of Man realized that both were needed, and 
with His all sufficiency come to meet that need. 

It is Hoffman, who has given to the world that 
idea of Christ among the doctors of the law; "both 
hearing them and asking them questions." And 
who can help but admire the candor which shines 
from His countenance; nor fail to detect the more 
than human comprehensiveness, which was able to 
pierce beneath their cloak of hypocrisy, till they 
"were astonished at His understanding;" and 
which in His reply to His mother, showed He re- 
alized that His mission to this world was His 
"Father's business," about which He was constantly 
engaged. While again, thinking upon the Mission 
of the Nazarene, he has made the night in Geth- 
semane forever memorable In the minds of all 
lovers of art, as they gaze upon the kneeling Fig- 
ure of the Man of Sorrows, till almost they can 

30 



The comprehensiveness of christ 

hear the agony of that prayer, "Father if it be pos- 
sible, let this cup pass from Me." 

And yet, in these two portraits of the Divine One, 
methinks, I can see the comprehensive mind of 
Christ working, which must to some extent have 
been understood by the master of the brush. 

For to our joys He is as ready to respond as He 
was to the marriage in Cana of Galilee; our dark- 
ened understandings He is as willing to lead into 
Divine truth as He was to teach the ruler of the 
Jews, who came seeking Him by night; while the 
latch-string to an abode of sorrow. He is as will- 
ing to lift, and by His entrance give that which 
this w^orld can neither give nor take away, as He 
was to enter that home at Bethany. And when, in 
the mystery of human life, our feet are lead from the 
path of rectitude and duty, into ways of sin and 
wretchedness, we see an agonizing Saviour treading 
the wine press of His Father's wrath alone, in order 
to rescue the wandering soul from darkness and 
despair. 

Oh! blessed portraits of a Character, Who is all 
sufficient for our needs, both now and hereafter; 
and Who, if we will but trust Him, meets them 
with an Arm that is not shortened that it cannot 
save, and Whose ear is not heavy that it will not 
hear. 



31 



OUR PERSONAL INFLUENCE 

There is no greater tendency abroad in the world 
to-day to fashion and mold the lives of men and 
women, than that of influence. Its enriching and 
ennobling effects or lowering and degrading ten- 
dencies are felt in all the walks of life. By it the 
individual is made the truer, braver, and nobler; or 
lead into the pathway of falsehood, cowardice and 
treachery. While as it has been allowed its God- 
given mission, men and nations have trembled in 
the balance. What a change in the life of a man 
a woman's prayer might have made if they had 
been listened to by Pilate ; while into how many paths 
of debauchery and crime some silver tongued De- 
lilah may have lead even the monarch upon his 
throne. 

Toward no power with which he has to contend 
should man have a more critical eye, before its ac- 
ceptance. For when once taken into the heart and 
life of an individual it may mean his destiny, if 
allowed free rein in his life, for heaven or hell. 
While what gives it the subtle power that it pos- 
sesses is the fact that the one upon whom it is 
exerting its power is often unconscious of its pres- 
ence till its awful grasp may have carried them 
beyond their depths . 

For like the subtle current of the whirl-pool, si- 
lently but in ever narrowing circles it drags its 
victim within its power. And not till his agonizing 
cry goes up for help, when it is forever too late, 
does he realize he is beyond the danger line. While 
what is still more potent for us to bear in mind, 
is that each and every life in itself has this power- 
ful energy, which is making men better or worse, as 

32 



OUR PERSONAL INFLUENCE 

the influence acts upon human lives. For as the 
aroma of the rose has no power to hide its per- 
fume, neither can the aroma of influence which sur- 
rounds one and all be hid in its effects upon the 
lives of our fellowmen. 

What care should be used by those who in any- 
way occupy positions where they mold the lives of 
others. How careful should they be to see that 
their own lives are in tune with the Infinite, lest 
by a false note someone else might take up the dis- 
cord which will echo round the world. Because 
of its seeming insignificance one must not despise 
its effects. For from the little acorn mighty oaks 
grow, so from the insignificant acts there may ger- 
minate an influence that only the mind on high can 
penetrate and fathom. 

Oh! trainers of our youth, remember that it 
was the influence of a teacher that acted upon a 
young and tender mind and made of him a better 
and a truer man ; and as from thy life there may 
go out some molding tendency such as this, guard 
not only the lives in thy charge, but the power thou 
hast over them; so that in after years they may be 
ready to say that the world is better for you hav- 
ing lived in it. On the other hand, hold in check 
all those things the evil one is so prone to lay hold 
of in you that might excite or entice the minds of 
the young from the grand and the noble. 

A pupil once said to her teacher. Why do you 
dwell so much upon that theme? but the experience 
of after years fully convinced her of the instructor's 
wisdom. For in them she saw that influence was 
one of the most potent factors of our human ex- 

33 



OUR PERSONAL INFLUENCE 

istence. 

The good and the bad we are bound to meet, 
while the wisdom of the Master Teacher has lead 
us to believe that we are here for the purpose of 
upholding the one and battling with the other, and 
not till that purpose is fulfilled will we be re- 
moved. 

For He prayed that His disciples might not be 
taken from the world, but that they should be kept 
from the evil that was in the world; and the Al- 
mighty's hand is never so busily engaged as when 
shielding us from the influences of evil which are 
found so numerous and various on every side, and 
which at times may find a starting point in one's 
mind and heart. 

Oh ! that one did but realize the power he has 
over another life, and to w^hat awful limits that 
power may carry him ! To darken the pathway of 
one or to put out the light he has, seems a cruel and 
unbecoming sport; but how unspeakably more 
wretched is the one whose moral sight has been 
darkened and whose feet have been lead in the 
slippery paths of sin by an influence that was not 
good. 

"Let your light shine," said Christ; but see to 
it, my brother and my sister, that your light ema- 
nates from Calvary, and not from yourself. Else 
the influence of your light may be only to destroy, 
rather than build up; only to strew the coast line 
of this world with souls going down to despair, be- 
cause of your evil influence upon them, just as the 
wreckers used to strew our seacoast with stranded 
vessels which their false lights lured to destruction. 

34 



OUR PERSONAL INFLUENCED 

And remember you may be directing human souls to 
their eternal destiny as the tendency of your influ- 
ence has been upon their lives. 

''Come see a man who has told me all things 
ever I did," said the sin-darkened soul who had 
talked with the stranger at Jacob's well; but the 
influence of her life lead others to find the Messiah. 
Narrow and circumscribed her field of labor was, 
but her effort was blessed and accepted of by Christ. 

Favored indeed was Judas in being among the 
twelve of Christ's disciples, but covetousness had 
gained such a hold upon his heart that he darkened 
the annals of crime with the blackest sin yet known 
to man. Oh! give to us, blessed Master, the influ- 
ence that we need, and what is better still, the 
wisdom to direct that influence aright, else it may 
prove a curse rather than a blessing to its posses- 
sor. 



35 



LONELINESS 

There is no malady, which afflicts the human 
heart, so universal as that of loneliness. None, per- 
haps, that has so often turned upon the sufEerer the 
cynical sneer; which come from the lips of either 
an uncaring or uncomprehending world, when some 
wanderer or sorrow stricken soul gives vent to their 
feelings in articulate speech. 

If though, the curtain was once allowed to be 
lifted, which hides the human heart, what awful 
tragedies we would find enacted on every side. When 
in front of the foot-lights of ones true self, mankind 
would come to understand the truth of that poetic 
sentiment, ''all is not gold that glitters," and have 
presented to it for the first time, this 'Via dolorosa" 
which every human soul must travel at times. 

It may come to one in younger years, when the 
playthings have lost their charm, and the play- 
mates have either deserted or forgotten you; or 
as is more often the case, when one is face to face 
with some awful struggle, in which the individual 
realizes he is giving way inch by inch, and as the 
darkening cloud of defeat thickens above his head, 
he remembers the refuge of home — which now is 
far away — and to whose inmates he cannot go for 
solace and comfort. While in after life, from the 
moment in which the soul steps out upon the plane 
of public recognition by the world, till the race of 
life is run and the goal is found in death — through 
whose portals all at last must pass — no blacker form 
can it ever take, than in moments through which 
its victims must pass, when they are misjudged by 
those who ought to know them best and love them 
most. 

St. Helena was desolate and barren as a home 

36 



LONELINESS 

and refuge for an ambitious character; but not half 
as much as the soul that dwelt within the man, and 
whose motives had been misjudged by the people he 
loved so well. Sunny France may well give to this 
greatest of modern generals, a resting place upon 
the banks of her Seine; yet what compensation is 
this to him, who needed a friendly hand in his hour 
of greatest loneliness, but the cry of whose soul was 
only answered by the waves of the Mediterranean, 
as their sound broke upon the exile's ear. 

You may cover the casket of your dead with the 
costliest flowers plucked from southern gardens; 
you may listen to their praises lauded to the very 
heavens, by silver-tongued orators, who with you 
gaze for the last time into their irresponsive faces. 
What to them is the wasted perfume of those roses 
and the eloquence of that matchless rhetoric, in 
comparison with v/hat your sympathy and interest 
might have been, had it been given while they moved 
and mingled w^th you in the world ! 

No sadder words has the human tongue ever 
voiced than "It might have been." Yet how often 
might these be written for an epitaph, where some 
lonely one lies sleeping, as the truest expression 
of your heart; which realizes when it is forever 
too late, that their pathway was made the sadder 
because of your lack of sympathy with them and 
their hopes. What a gulf of difference lies at this 
juncture between ourselves and the Master, in His 
dealings with those whom He loved. 

John might misunderstand Him; yet in the mysti- 
fying cup that Jesus pressed to his beloved dis- 
ciple's lips, the dregs of loneliness were lacking as 
he rested upon the Master's bosom. 

37 



LONELINESS 

Peter might sin and weep bitter tears over the 
same; but in the garden of Gethsemane he was not 
allowed to remain, while he ever had the com- 
panionship of Him whose commission he was ful- 
filling, as he fed His sheep. 

Zaccheus, as a publican, might have felt his 
isolation from the ranks of men, and so sought a 
place where he would not intrude upon the multi- 
tude as they followed Jesus; but the Master chose 
that lonely man to be His host that night. 

The heart of a Magdalene might weep, while the 
soul of a trembling sinner might fear the stones of 
a mob who had remembered the mote, but had for- 
gotten a beam, in their anxiety to fulfill the Mosaic 
law. Yes, more than this, like many have felt that 
such as they had no place in the thought of Him 
who was heralded by angels and sought for by kings. 
Yet the loneliness of the one was relieved, as in 
obedience she bore the message of Him, she had 
taken for the gardener; and the other had poured 
into her broken heart that ointment which is so 
universally needed, and which is just as willingly 
bestowed by Plim who came to seek and to save that 
which was lost, when He said : ^'Neither do I 
condemn thee: go, and sin no more." 

While what joy should fill every heart, as they 
come to know that He, who is the same yesterday, 
to-day, and forever, longs to meet with such as 
these; and that in the meeting will give the assur- 
ance of a friendship, which knows of no misun- 
derstandings, and a companionship into which no 
lonely hours need ever come, for His promise is, 
"Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of 
the world." 

38 



EASTER 

What a transforming power the thought of The 
Resurrection should have upon mankind. When 
fully understood it ought to effect our every 
thought and action. 

Giving hope and certainty not only with reference 
to the departed, but calling us to a new life and 
better service of the Master. 

For with reference to our loved ones, who have 
answered the Master's summons and gone Home, 
we "sorrow not as those who have no hope." 

While who is there to whom the empty tomb 
does not speak as the angel spoke to the women, 
saying: "Why seek ye the living among the 
dead?" 

Let us arise from the Past into the Present, 
where we can if we will, spend and be spent for 
our fellow men. 

Let us arise from our Doubts and Unbelief into 
the clearer vision that Faith always gives one. 

Let us arise from Lukewarmness and Indifference 
into a life of active service for Him Whose we are 
and Whom we claim to serve. 

And thus may your life and mine be a blessing 
to all with whom we come in contact. 



39 



THE CHRISTIAN AWITNESS FOR CHRIST 

There are many interrogatives that puzzle and 
perplex the most thoughtful mind. For after all 
the paths the mental foot of man has traveled; 
science still has her mysteries; logic holds her prob- 
lems; and religion abounds in truths; too high and 
too deep, for the weary thinker of this world to un- 
ravel and explain. 

Yet in each and every one of these intellectual 
gardens, fruit has been found, which has not been 
forbidden to the human thought; while partaking 
of the same, mankind has been strengthened and 
helped thereby; and also been made to spiritually 
rejoice. For in the religious realm, one finds there 
has been committed to his hands the highest and 
noblest mission in which he can be enlisted ; namely, 
the telling of the old, old story that Jesus died for 
sinful men, from the rising of the sun till the go- 
ing down of the same. For Christ has left the fame 
and renown of that grandest, and at the same 
time, most awful picture of realistic suffering the 
human eye has ever gazed upon, in man's hands. 
For since His ascension, no voice has ever wit- 
nessed concerning Him ; but that of His faithful and 
devoted followers; while to their custody has been 
committed the written word, and in obedience to 
their Leader's parting and farewell command, that 
word has been circulated and expounded to earth's 
remotest end. 

While when one comes to realize that the cross 
upon which Christ suflfered, could by His almighty 
power, have been turned into indestructible marble, 
and forever upon Mount Calvary, stood as a wit- 
ness for Him, as easily as he turned Lot's wife into 

40 



THE CHRISTIAN AWITNESS FOR CHRIST 

a pillar of salt; or that He might have written 
the wondrous story of His mercy and love, in char- 
acters as marvelous and convincing, as He wrote 
upon the walls of Belshazzar's palace; greater still 
should be the reader's reverent anxiety to know 
why God has chosen the "weak things" of this 
world, to witness to what He has done, and is still 
doing. Here I think the Christian has the right 
to claim a greater knowledge, concerning the work- 
ing of the Father of us all, than any other living 
creature, and though it is not the intention of the 
writer to slight the theoretical side of the subject, 
yet, I do wish to lay especial emphasis upon the prac- 
tical and experimental side of the Christian life. 
For between these two mountain tops of vision, 
there lies a fathomless gulf; and not until the 
former has passed over the bridge of Christian ex- 
perience, can he taste the sweets of the latter's in- 
heritance, which comes to one by faith alone. "With- 
out money and without price." 

It is true; angels who have never fallen, could 
tell the world of God's majesty and goodness; the 
devils in hell might cry aloud of His wrath and 
justice; while all men, if they only would, could 
speak of His wisdom. But none but a child of 
God, purchased with the Blood of Christ, can 
add to all these, that without which the world 
would be a desolate and barren waste. For they, 
and they alone, know by experimental teaching, of 
that wondrous story of His thoughtfulness and 
mercy; that miracle of the ages, of His forgiving 
love, by which they, and all who will, may find ac- 
ceptance on High and cleansing in His blood. Not 

41 



THE CHRISTIAN AWITNESS FOR CHRIST 

only though, has the Christian been taught in a 
school which none ever enter till they consent to 
recline at the Feet of the Great Teacher; but no 
greater privilege ever comes to His disciples than 
when they are allowed to tell to their fellowmen, 
what Christ has done for their souls. While when 
this thought is fully appreciated by you, dear read- 
er, you cannot help but realize the awful mistake 
so many make, when they act before the world, as 
though their being a witness for Jesus Christ com- 
pelled them to wear the longest and the saddest faces 
one meets with here on earth. But in the light of 
what the Master taught, away with all such hypoc- 
risy; and remember that He Who was heralded 
by the songs of angels, never meant or taught that 
the witnesses' faces should be clouded when their 
hearts were bursting with the joyful message, which 
they longed to tell to sinful men. While no greater 
joy can come to the truly Christian heart than in 
being a sign-board pointing unto Heaven, some 
brother or sister who has fallen. 

While what an awful mistake some are making in 
this day, who uplift the finger of scorn at the mighty 
missionary effort that is being made by many wit- 
nesses of the Cross. And in what contrast do 
their actions stand, to the words of Him, Who 
said: "Go ye into all the world and preach My 
Gospel to every creature." For Christ would leave 
the world without excuse, because of its rejection 
of Him; and so He chose His witnesses from the 
ranks of His believing followers, in order that all 
might know if they would, that Jesus died for sin- 
ful men. 

42 



THE CHRISTIAN AWITNESS FOR CHRIST 

While from time to time He is sending the mes- 
sage of Salvation to the islands far across the sea; 
and raising up such men as the Christ-like Living- 
ston to penetrate Africa's darkest jungles; or by 
such devotion and fearlessness, as Paton exemplified, 
have this message known to earth's remotest end. 
While by the methods they adopt one can easily 
tell w^hether they have been w^ith Christ and have 
learned of Him. Here indeed, oh! witness of the 
Cross, take heed. For your thoughts cannot be the 
world's thoughts; and your ways cannot be the 
world's ways. While the latter, whose salvation 
many of you profess to desire, will quickly and 
rightly judge, whether you have been with Christ 
and have learned of Him. 

Will then a parade of your public and private 
devotions be the best methods for one to adopt, who 
is a follower of Christ? Will your hair splitting 
expositions of a creed concerning which many are 
racking their brains, in the day in which we live? 
Or the denouncing of some honest brother who may 
differ from yourself, ever be the means of bringing 
men to accept the Saviour, Whom you profess to 
love and serve? No, a thousand times no. For 
these are but the enemy's methods and plans, and 
along which lines he carries on his work ; and when 
one is found to be such an easy disciple of his 
teaching, he has never much to fear from your cause. 
But rather gird upon yourself the armor of Jesus 
Christ, and with which you will be able to with- 
stand the attacks of the evil one. Daily manifest 
in your life, more heart loyalty to the Master. 
Hourly feed upon His promises, and exhibit the con- 
tentment which will be seen in the character of 

43 



THE CHRISTIAN AWITNESS FOR CHRIST 

one who is willing to take what his Father gives, 
saying: ''Not my will but thine be done," and 
have deep seated in your heart that anchor of hope 
and trust, which will not let you drift in the face 
of every wind that blows. And thus be always 
ready to exemplify in your life the lines of the 
poet, who said: 

"I will go where you want me to go dear Lord 
O'er mountain, and vale, and hill; 
ril say, what you want me to say, dear Lord; 
And I'll be, what you want me to be." 



44 



MY FATHER'S HOUSE 

There is something strikingly majestic, in the way 
Christ taught His disciples. Coming to Him as 
they did, with their trials and perplexites; they al- 
ways found in Him a way out of trouble. A sin 
cursed woman, taken in adultery and brought to 
Him for condemnation, received the pardoning mes- 
sage, ''neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no 
more;" while a weeping sister was gently re- 
minded that He was the Resurrection and the 
Life. 

Under the shadow of night there dawned upon 
the troubled soul of a ruler of the Jews, the reve- 
lation of the new birth; while His disciples, clam- 
oring for position and rank, had set before them 
the teachable disposition of a little child as a means 
to such an end. 

Near the close of the Master's earthly life He 
spoke to His disciples of His contemplated depar- 
ture from their midst; but seemingly unwilling to 
let the sorrow of the parting moment rest too heav- 
ily on their minds. He sought to cheer and comfort 
their hearts with a prophetic picture of His Fath- 
er's House, and which has made of heaven an attrac- 
tive place ever since. It must have been this thought 
in the mind of the saintly Rowland Taylor; for on 
being asked, only a short time before his execution, 
"how he did?" He quickly replied: ''never better, 
for now I know I am almost Home," and looking 
across the meadow to the place where soon he was 
to be burned to the stake, continued : "Only two 
more stiles to get over and then I am at my Fath- 
er's House." 

Or as the venerable Mede once said: "I am go- 

45 



MY FATHER'S HOUSE 

ing home as fast as I can, as every honest man 
ought to do, when his clay's work is over; and I 
bless God I have got a good home to go to." 

This certainty with which the Christian world has 
rested upon the teaching of the Master in regard to 
Heaven, has been a comfort to many a pilgrim along 
the wayside of life. 

Believing Him to be the very incarnation of truth 
and righteousness, why should it not be so? For as 
another has so beautifully expressed it: 

"If it had not been so. 
He could have told them. 
If it had not been so. 
He should have told them. 
If it had not been so. 
He would have told them." 

How often has the belief in the truth of these 
words been the stay and support of the departing 
saint. 

At the bed-side of a dying minister stood his 
devoted wife and faithful physician; and as into 
their faces he looked for the last time on earth, he 
inquired: "Doctor, is this another stroke?" And 
knowing in Whom he had believed, and being per- 
suaded that He was able to keep that which he had 
committed unto Him, he weighed his anchor and 
put out to sea, whose further boundary brought 
his soul into the harbor of the Father's House. 



46 



THE NEW THINGS OF CHRISTIANITY 

How often has the Bible been likened to God's 
picture gallery; In which the Divine Artist has 
revealed His thought to the human race. 

Yes, and It surpasses every other studio known 
unto man. Its paintings have to do, not alone with 
the past and the present; but through the prophetic 
touch of the Inspired penman, beautiful glimpses 
have been given of the future, and what one may 
expect to find, as a product of God's appointed agen- 
cies. No more productive power has been set in 
motion than Christianity. Its presence In the world 
is clearly seen in the blessings that it brings. It 
has introduced a new creation, while the same has 
had a mighty power In the world. Through its in- 
fluence, cherished objects have become useless and 
utterly obsolete; but the new are of Infinitely more 
value than the old they have displaced. As these 
changes take place civilization advances, and men 
rise In the scale of manhood. It is this that ex- 
plains the advancement of the races, from savagery 
to a higher civilization; nor will the heart of man 
be satisfied till it has become identified with the new 
things of Christianity, and received the blessings 
which they bring. In them will be seen a living 
monument to the new commandment of the Master ; 
where Charity and Justice find their crowning vir- 
tue In Brotherly kindness; and only while they are 
exemplified, can the Grand Exalted Ruler of Chris- 
tianity pronounce us faithful In all things. 

Let this command of Christ be kept, and what 
shall follow? Men will love those who do not 
love them; they shall love their fellowmen enough 
to sacrifice their comfort, yes and their lives also 

47 



THE NEW THINGS OF CHRISTIANITY 

for their spiritual good. Then shall be seen not a 
star in the Eastern sky to guide the wise of earth 
to where a young child lay; but in the heart of 
each and every one the star of Fidelity shall shine, 
symbolical of the fidelity that is seen in each and 
every life, to Him Whose they are and Whom 
they serve; and to those who are near and dear to 
them. 



48 



SONGS IN THE NIGHT 

There is no age in the history of our world when 
music has not played a part in its drama. There 
are no experiences through which the human heart 
is called upon to pass when its inspiring or sooth- 
ing strains do not find a responsive chord in the soul 
of man. 

If it is war that has devastated and laid waste the 
fatherland ; by it her sons are led forth to battle. 

If the human heart has found its mate, how often 
is heard those strains that tell of the passion that 
lies within. 

While if it is sorrow, such as only those know 
who have tasted and experienced the same ; from its 
valley there will echo songs in the night, which seem 
to voice the agony of human hearts at some period 
of their earthly existence. 

Looking as men do often from the human side 
alone, they are tempted to repine and become skep- 
tical, under the providential chastening of our Heav- 
enly Father; forgetful of the fact that God has 
not withdrawn Himself from them, but that cir- 
cumstances In which they are placed, often cause 
them to lose sight of the truth, that He Is ever 
present to all who call upon Him. And many times 
comes to their relief with songs In the night, which 
at the time their ears may be too deaf to hear. 

Ever since the keeper of Eden allowed sin to 
disturb the communion and Intercourse, he once had 
with his Maker, the world has been In darkness. 
From whose depths there often arises the infantile 
cry, voiced by a German philosopher for light. It 
it heard from the rising of the sun till the going 
down of the same. 

49 



SONGS IN THE NIGHT 

In the palace and by the wayside, in the hovel 
and by the market-place. And not till the great 
millennial day shall dawn will this darkness be done 
away with forever. 

Darker indeed seems the night of those who look 
out through the poisonous mists of ignorance, super- 
stition and prejudice; for they shut their ears to 
the songs that otherwise they might hear. 

Memory, had it not been for sin, would have 
been a blessing; but now it adds to the present 
troubles, those of the past; while imagination links 
possible tortures to the future. The intellect which 
has placed man on a pedestal above the brute crea- 
tion, time and again has been baffled by the night 
of ignorance; through which, as a lost child it 
has sought to find its way. 

And while groping in a night of spiritual dark- 
ness how many souls have found the so-called sci- 
ences and philosophies, but will-o-the-wisps, rather 
than guiding angels of light. 

And to the gloomy depths of a night of sorrow 
each and every soul is doomed at some time in 
life to come. 

Like Israel of old, you may not have passed this 
way before, but there is no hour that passes o'er 
the dial that is not bringing you nearer to the time 
when some loved one will weigh their anchor and 
put out to sea, across whose depths no traveler ever 
returns. 

And you, dear reader, will be left like all who 
have gone this way before you, to sit in sack-cloth 
and ashes. 

For around about you there will gather the 

50 



SONGS IN THE NIGHT 

shadows of a night, into which you have seen oth- 
ers go, and in your feeble way may have tried to 
comfort them as they went; but of whose reality, 
though, one can never know till the cup has been 
pressed to their own lips, and its dregs have been 
drained to the bottom. 

It is then, if the soul is in touch with the Infinite, 
that he or she is taught to sing these songs in the 
night; and the singer themselves is made better, 
stronger, and braver for having sung them. Yes, 
we may have them if we will but take them. Not 
only songs, but songs given us by God. Whose 
Son left His heavenly home and came to this earth 
that we might have them. 

Their melody can, and will dispel all care and 
sorrow; for He Who tunes our hearts to sing them 
maketh all our bed in our day of trouble, and 
with a mother's care and thoughtfulness waits on 
our every weakness. 

While constantly He is fitting us for that land 
where "there is no night" of bodily suffering, of 
mental anguish, of spiritual darkness, or of human 
sorrow. 

Yes, there are songs in the night. Songs that 
are God given and heaven sent. 

Songs that He intended His children to learn to 
sing. Songs that will dispel the darkness as we 
blend our voices in that grand old hymn: 

"Sun of my soul. Thou Saviour dear; 
It is not night if Thou be near." 

While ever amid the shadowy path of sorrow, 

51 



SONGS IN THE NIGHT 

when loved ones are snatched from our fond em- 
brace. May we learn with Dr. Cornelius to say: 

"Not now, but in the coming years, 
It may be in the better land, 
We'll read the meaning of our tears, 
And there, sometime, we'll understand. 

We'll know why clouds instead of sun 
Were over many a cherished plan, 
Why song has ceased when scarce begun ; 
'Tis there, sometime, we'll understand. 

Why what we long for most of all, 
Eludes so oft our eager hand; 
Why hopes are crushed and castles fall, 
Up there, sometime, we'll understand. 

God knows the way, He holds the key, 
He guides us with unerring hand ; 
Sometime with tearless eyes we'll see; 
Yes, there, up there, we'll understand. 

Then trust in God through all the days; 
Fear not, for He doth hold thy hand ; 
Though dark thy way, still sing and praise; 
Sometime, sometime, we'll understand." 



S2 



OCT 31 1912 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



018 360 032 1 

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